Gone But Never Forgotten
by sarahlovestwilightyesshedoes
Summary: Lucia is a girl with a mystery for a past. She's never met her parents, but little does she know that her father is one of the leaders of the vampire world. How can she be human and her parents vampires? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

***GASP!* A _Twilight _story??? Who knew I was capable of that anymore? xD**

**Haha, I've had this idea in my head for a while, and once I started getting into HP, it kinda left my mind for a while and I just recently remembered it, and had to write it :) It's a completely original idea, so it's not going to be so predictable!**

**Hope you enjoy, and review please!  
**

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**Chapter 1**

Field trips.

Normally I'd hate it, but this time, I was actually going to _Italy_! Someplace exciting for once! I'd actually be getting out of L.A.! I mean, who cares about the museum except for the nerds? And I am not a nerd.

But the most exciting thing about going to Italy was that I was going to visiting the place of my birth.

My foster parents, John and Donna Sampson, were your average white-picket-fence American couple. On their honeymoon, they went to Florence to see the sights. They didn't expect to see a little baby wrapped in a blanket with a note attached to it asking whoever that comes across this child to take care of it to the best of his or her ability, and that I was to be named Lucia. My foster dad thought it was way too soon to even be _thinking_ about children, but of course my foster mother had always wanted a little girl, and said if they wanted to have children of their own, they could try later. So, with much resistant from John, Donna took me home.

They never found my real parents. Then again, nobody cared enough to look.

John and Donna dropped me off at the airport to meet my social studies class for a thirteen-and-a-half-hour flight to Rome. After that I would take a small plane to Florence and drive to this little, off-the-beaten-path town called Volterra. This was going to be the best and worst trip of my life.

Why would it be good _and _bad? It would be good because I'd get to see where I was born (which looked pretty awesome from the pictures I looked up) and it would be bad because my worst enemy was coming.

Misty Walters was the kind of girl that would the type to go, "Oh my God, I broke a nail!" And she was also the type to make enemies for the stupidest reasons. I'd get into it, but I don't want to bore you with useless details.

Anyway, when we got to Volterra, it was straight from the airport to the tourist attractions. I tried to talk to my teacher about just renting out a hotel room or something and he said, "Now, Lucia, we shouldn't waste a good day just because of a little jet lag!" _A little? Try a lot._

After a little bit of fooling around, I found myself standing in front of a cart looking at hand-made jewelry and conversing with the woman selling in rather mediocre Italian when someone tapped me on the shoulder; the person's finger was freezing, however, which is what me jump. I turned around and stifled a gasp. The man standing in front of me was just beautiful. His dark hair was falling into eyes (which were covered by sunglasses) and he was smiling, his perfect white teeth shining in the shade. Blinking, I asked, "_Di cosa hai bisogno_?" (**A/N: "What do you need?"**)

"You don't need to speak Italian. I know you're not from around here," he replied, his voice touched with a slight accent.

_How much does this guy know? Stop it, Lucia, you're freaking out… _I knew I didn't look like a local, with my white-blonde hair, lack of a tan, and crystal blue eyes.

"Um, alright. I'll speak English." I shifted my weight, feeling uncomfortable. I was getting a bad vibe off of this guy, but I had no idea what it was. It was strangely… predatory. _Predatory? Wow, there must be a bed in the psychiatric ward with my name on it._

He held out a pale hand. "My name is Santiago. It is nice meeting you."

I nervously took his hand and shook it once. It was freezing, even thought it was clearly blazing hot. "What do you want?" I asked, a hint of impatience marring my tone.

"I just wondered… my brother needs some help from an American, and I wonder–"

"Listen," I interrupted. "I don't mean to be rude, honestly, but I don't have the time to be teaching anybody anything. I'm here on a school field trip. I can't be traipsing around Volterra teaching the locals things they don't know."

"Please?" he pleaded, taking a step closer. I moved to step back, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer with surprising strength. "It won't be too much trouble." His breath blew into my face, and it was the sweetest smell known to mankind; it was so amazing my eyes almost rolled back. "I'd be terribly disappointed if you couldn't do it."

My instincts were screaming, _Run! He's bad news!_, but the rest of me wanted to follow him. Nodding almost against my will, I followed him. He didn't go down the alley as I expected, however. We walked side by side in silence, and we reached the entrance of what almost looked like a castle.

"You live in a castle?" I asked, astonished.

He shrugged. "I suppose."

"You suppose?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes. I change residences from time to time," he replied.

There was something about his voice that was somewhat strained, like he was trying to control himself from saying – or doing – something he probably shouldn't. I was starting to get worried, but there was no turning back now. It was as if I was being forced into obedience, which scared me.

He opened the door for me, and I stepped over the threshold hesitantly. There was a hallway and a door at the end. We entered it and there was a room of about forty people on the other side. My eyes widened. Why were these people here? Where was I? What did I just get myself into?

He stopped and turned to me. "Stay here. I'll be back."

I nodded and stayed still, shifting my weight from foot to foot, back and forth. Santiago never came back.

Instead, a woman with waist-length mahogany brown hair came through the same door Santiago and I came through and ushered us through another door. She split us into several groups and put us into different elevators.

When the elevator stopped, we exited into a hallway where we met the woman again, and she shepherded us into a circular room that looked like a castle turret. There were no windows, just slits in the stone walls to substitute for them.

A man in a long black cloak that was the same shade as his hair emerged and exclaimed, "Welcome to Volterra!" in a soft, but carrying voice.

In a matter of seconds, all hell broke loose.


	2. Chapter 2

**Revised version of this chapter. I was bit eager to get it out the first time so it pretty much failed epically. I went back and edited it some, added some things, so it's better. **

**Hope you enjoy! Chapter three should be up today, too.  
**

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**Chapter 2**

All I can say is that I was so glad I was in the back of the throng of people who came to this place.

There was screaming, and deep, hungry, terrifying snarls reverberated off the walls. I didn't know what was going on, so I clutched someone's arm to hold them back from running. The person shrieked and slapped my hand.

"Ouch! It's okay! I'm not…" I didn't what I wasn't, but that wasn't the point. "I won't hurt you."

When the person turned around, I realized it was a woman. Her cinnamon brown eyes were full of fear as she looked at me. "Sorry."

"It's fine – do you know what's going on?" I asked quickly.

She shook her head. "I know as well as anybody–"

Something thudded at our feet. Looking down, I saw a dead body, the man's blue eyes dull and unseeing. I shrieked and ran. I didn't know where I was running to, but all I knew was that I had to get out of here and call the authorities. Not to mention catch a plane back home.

I hadn't noticed that the man had a strangely clean wound in his neck that was a lot like a bite mark.

When I reached the door, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was getting out of here.

Not.

I grasped the knob and twisted, but the door wouldn't open. These… things locked the doors! I was either going to beg for mercy or die.

Soon, self-preservation kicked in. I ran over to a corner and curled up there, hoping nobody would notice me.

I don't know how many deaths I witnessed that afternoon.

Once there was nobody left, the monsters – one of whom was Santiago, I realized – disposed of the bodies in ways I'd rather not discuss. They hadn't noticed me.

I just watched them for a while, too terrified to move. I observed them quickly and thoroughly.

One – they were inhumanly pale; I noticed that with Santiago.

Two – they moved too fast to be human; the whole skirmish was barely five minutes long.

Three – they were way too strong to be human; one of them lifted an at least two-hundred-pound man like he weighed nothing more than a feather.

My observations came to an abrupt halt when a man with white hair said, "There's one left."

I didn't even think about the consequences. I bolted.

I didn't even get to the door. Someone grabbed me from around the waist – a man, I realized, too muscular to be a woman – and pulled me against his chest, covering my mouth with his hand.

I aimed a kick to the shins and surprisingly made contact, but what surprised me even more was that he didn't even flinch. After a few more kicks, I gave up. _What's the use? I'm going to die anyway…_

The man dumped me unceremoniously at the feet of three cloaked figures.

"Which one of you want her?" the man asked in a deep voice.

I was confused. _None of this makes sense. _I looked up at the three men, and put on my best glare, hoping to come across as intimidating. Not that it was going to work, but it was worth a try. The one in the middle, a white-haired man that looked both young and old at the same time, sneered at me, as if I was a lesser being.

I noticed that I looked so much like him that it was maybe the tiniest bit scary.

I glared harder and met his eyes, hoping to intimidate him.

Big mistake.

His eyes were a startling shade of blood-red. It was masked by something, however – cataracts, maybe? Overall, it just wasn't normal. I compared it to the other two, and it was the same. _Alright, I want to know what's going on, and now._

"I think I am satisfied," said the black-haired one that "welcomed" us to this hellhole. His voice made it seem like his mind was elsewhere.

"Likewise," said the white-haired one.

The other one just nodded in agreement, his face expressionless. He looked like he'd seen a lot, a lot he'd rather forget.

The burly one that grabbed me shrugged and lowered into an animalistic crouch.

"Felix, no."

The man looked up to what seemed to be his master confusedly. "What?"

"I believe I told you not to attack."

"But Aro, I thought you–?"

"Do as he says!" the white-haired one snapped. _Somebody's temperamental. _I covered up my chuckling with a cough.

Aro laid a hand on his shoulder. "Calm, Caius." He turned to me, his expression blank, yet I could see something in his eyes that suggested suspicion, and something else I couldn't identify. "Your name?"

"Lucia," I replied warily.

His eyes widened, but the movement was barely there. "Hmm…" He began at pace, slowly at first, but his stride speeding up with every step.

"Why don't you just kill me and get it over with? You didn't seem to care about all of those people." It came out before I could stop it, and I braced myself for… well, anything.

Aro smiled benevolently. "Kill you? No, no… not kill you…" His expression turned thoughtful, and he murmured something I couldn't hear.

"Aro, your… your… _kindness _sickens me! She has seen too much, and you want to let her go?" Caius shrieked suddenly, making me jump at the sudden noise.

Aro raised a hand. "Caius," he said warningly. "I hardly believe it's appropriate to kill her. Yes, that is our normal code of conduct"–_that can't be good_–"but I sense promise in this one." He nodded to me.

"Promise." Caius snorted in a "Give me a break" sort of way. "I'll honestly _never _understand your logic, Aro." And with that, he glared at Aro and stalked off, slamming the door behind him, leaving a ringing silence in his wake.

_What _is _his problem? _ I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

Aro's expression was bemused, as if he was used to Caius's attitude. He turned to me and just stared, waiting for me to say something obviously.

I gulped and said, "So, you're keeping me? I can't go back to my social studies class and just pretend none of this ever happened?"

Aro sighed sadly. "Yes, we are 'keeping' you, and in response to your last question, no, I do not believe that is possible. As Caius has already stated, you have seen too much."

"Then why haven't you killed me? If I was you… I would have done it already." It was the truth, I would have. I had no idea why I was still alive even though I was glad I was.

"Lucia, there are some things I need to explain." He gestured for me to follow him and we moved down the hallway at a brisk pace.

I had no idea what I was in store for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I lied right through my teeth in that last author's note, and I apologize. **

**I have a had a lot of family problems lately (the cat died, my great-aunt died... life's kicking my ass) and I haven't gotten around to finishing and putting this up.**

**Oh, and I got the Italian-English translations from Google. Feel free to correct it if need be.**

**As always, review!  
**

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**Chapter 3**

We reached what I assumed was his office. Upon entering, Aro gestured to a burgundy armchair and I sat down. He took the seat beside me, folding his hands in his lap. We just stared at each other for a minute until Aro spoke.

"Now, this may be a lot to stomach at first, but please hear me out."

He looked at me inquiringly. I nodded.

"I and everyone here are not like you. We're different. You seem like a smart girl, you figured this out already, I presume?"

"Yes," I said stiffly, recounting the afternoon's events and shuddering slightly.

"Of course you want to know _how _we're different, and I do not blame you for that. You're curious, I understand."

The more appropriate word would be scared.

"I guess, yeah," I replied, not sure whether I wanted to know or not.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush any longer. We are vampires."

If I were to be completely honest, I never would have guessed it. I knew they definitely weren't human. I would have to be really stupid to think they_ were_ human, and I wasn't stupid. So I asked, "Are you serious? Or are you pulling my leg?"

"I am serious."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded. I couldn't believe that I actually believed him, but deep down I knew he wasn't lying. The evidence was too much to ignore.

It was strange, but my fear was ebbing, and in its place came curiosity. Our eyes locked, and I knew that there was nothing to fear. Something in those burgundy eyes told me that this man could be trusted. I had no idea whether or not I was being foolish or not, but if I was, so be it. For now, I was going to trust him.

"Would you like to know more about our kind?" Aro asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I'd like to know whether I'll be able to leave."

At this, Aro's expression hardened slightly. "I'm afraid the answer to that question is still no. And it will remain as such."

Unfortunately, my quick temper kicked in.

"That's bullshit," I snarled. "Who do I think I am? Someone who always to has to share the latest gossip with her girlfriends? I wouldn't do that, and besides, who would believe me anyway? You probably just want me for a midnight snack anyway, so what does it matter?" I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms defiantly, glaring at Aro.

Aro sighed and moved over to his desk, picking up a phone. Instead of dialing a number however, he simply spoke into the receiver in what sounded like very rapid Latin.

He hung up and turned to me, his face stern.

"I'm going to step out for a moment. You are not to leave this room. Understood?"

"Whatever," I muttered.

Aro sighed again and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_

I pulled my knees up against my chest and rested my head against my legs. I was scared, I was confused, and the whole situation exhausted me. It was just my luck that I would get involved with vampires. _Vampires_…

Suddenly, the door opened and a teenage girl–maybe thirteen–with short brown hair came in and spoke rather quickly. "Master, I–" Breaking off suddenly, her head whipped around and our eyes, hers bright red, mine crystal blue, met. We both realized we weren't of the same species. For a minute there, she looked very surprised. That turned to confusion, which quickly turned to anger.

"_Che cosa stai facendo qui_?" she asked flatly. (**A/N: What are you doing here?**)

_Why is she speaking Italian? It should be obvious that I'm not a local…_

"_Aro mi voleva aspettare qui per lui_," I answered. (**A/N: Aro wanted me to wait here.**)

Just then, Aro, Caius, and Marcus entered the room. Their eyes found the girl, and Aro smiled apologetically.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jane, dear. This is Lucia, and she will be staying with us for a while," he explained.

"Why?" Jane asked petulantly, like a defiant child. I was surprised Aro didn't slap her. From the look on Caius's face, _he_ sure wanted to.

Aro's expression made it clear that he was used to her attitude. "I know how you are about humans, but this is–"

"Shouldn't we confer with the others?" she interrupted. "It's–"

"There will be no more say on the matter from you," Caius snapped, glaring menacingly.

Jane took that as her cue to leave. She bowed her head and left, her black cloak flowing behind her and leaving the loudest silence I've ever heard in my life.

Caius turned to me. "As for you, Aro has, I'll admit, foolishly"–Aro glared at him–"decided to keep you here for a certain amount of time. We will tell you what our final decision is by the time we're ready. Meanwhile, you will be kept in an area of the castle where none of us can be drawn into temptation." If these were any normal circumstances, he would've been talking nonsense, but I knew better now. I definitely knew what he meant. "Understood?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good." He left the room silently, Marcus on his heels.

Aro watched them leave. After a few moments, I cleared my throat and asked, "What about my class? The people I was with, I mean. Aren't they worried? Is there a story in the paper? 'A sixteen-year-old American teenager goes missing on a school field trip?'"

Aro chuckled. "Full of questions, are we?" he murmured, almost too low for me to hear. "Yes, there are understandably worried, and no, there is no story in the newspaper… yet. Your parents have probably already been notified about your… disappearance." He had a strange tone in his voice, as if he wasn't telling me something. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but I let it drop.

Aro clapped his hands together, suddenly cheerful (_somebody_ forgot to take their meds…). "Well, shall we show you to your room?"

I nodded. "We shall."


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter just didn't want to be written. Enjoy! ;)**

**Again, translations provided by Google. Correct if need be, please. And review! :)  
**

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**Chapter 4**

We soon reached my new room. At the door, we stopped and Aro placed a hand on my shoulder. Before he spoke, I noticed that his eyelids fluttered a bit, like he couldn't focus entirely on the scene in front of him. He removed his hand a few seconds later.

"I know you, most likely, do not trust me. I want you to understand that I will never hurt you."

I was pleasantly surprised and touched by the sincerity in his voice. You would think that, as a vampire, he wouldn't care about my well-being, with me being a human. Hell, you'd think he wouldn't care about anyone's well-being except his own. I realized I had subconsciously made the mistake of thinking that. "Thank you," I murmured.

He smiled gently. "Don't thank me. I know a certain someone who would have my head if I ever hurt you."

I was just about to open the door to my room, so I whirled around to face him, shocked and confused. "Who? Have you by any chance met my foster parents? No one else gives a damn about me." I shrugged.

"You'll find that you can find people who care in unlikely places." He had a spark in his eye that suggested he knew something I didn't, which was driving me mad. He touched my shoulder again. "Ah, you're frustrated."

Stepping back and shrugging his hand off, I said, "How do you know?" On any normal day, that comment would've been sarcastic, but I really wondered how he knew.

"Some vampires have special gifts," he said slowly, as though he were trying not to upset me. "Mine happens to be reading minds." Just as I about to say something like "And why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" he held up a hand. "Please, let me finish." I nodded. He continued, "I can only read your mind through physical contact. But I hear much more than the typical mind reader."

"Mind reading's _typical_?" I said incredulously.

"Well, no," he said, chuckling. "But the only other mind-reader I know can only hear what is in your head at the time. I hear everything you've ever thought in your lifetime."

"So, in short, you know me better than I know myself?"

"Well, yes."

"How do I know you're not pulling my leg?"

"Your adoptive parents' last name is Sampson, I believe?"

"Well, apparently you're _not _lying."

He smirked and left the room, wishing me good night over his shoulder."

Exhausted from my long day, I kicked my shoes off and fell onto the bed, not even taking the time to look around my new room. I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the abrupt turn my life had taken.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

***

The next morning, I woke with a start, as a sharp rap on the door startled me awake.

"Who's there?" I demanded, my voice thick with sleep.

"Oh, don't sound so scared," a high voice snapped. "Just come over here and unlock the door."

I recognized the voice faintly, but I couldn't put a face or a name to it. I got up and moved over to the door, stretching as I went. I noticed that I fell asleep with the clothes I wore yesterday on. _I'll have to ask if I could get some fresh air and buy some clothes. _I felt my back pocket and was relieved that I still had my wallet. _At least I have money._

"Would you hurry up? I don't have all day," the voice complained.

"Actually, you _do _have all day." I smirked and opened the door, revealing an irritated Jane.

She held out a tray full of food to me. "Here. Aro insisted." She shoved it into my outstretched hands and stormed off, slamming the door in my face. _Well, isn't she just a darling?_

I set the tray on the nightstand and grabbed an apple, biting into it hurriedly. I realized I was starving. After I finished eating, I decided to do some exploring. It's not like they'd kill me for being curious. Opening the door slowly, I looked both ways down the hallway–it was empty. I set off down the right…

…and ran right into Caius.

_God, these vamps are fast. That hallway was empty a few seconds ago, I swear._

Cursing my luck, I took a few steps back. "Come to see me?" I asked sarcastically.

He sneered. "Unfortunately. Aro would like an audience with you." He started moving off down the hallway and I took that was my cue to follow. Miraculously, I kept pace with his fast, long stride. The silence between us was part-irritated and part-awkward.

When we reached Aro's office, Caius walked off in a huff. Rolling my eyes, I knocked on the door. "Come in and close the door behind you," came Aro's voice. I came in and did what I was told. He smiled and stood up. "I trust that you slept well last night?"

"I did."

"Good, good…" he said distractedly. "Now, Lucia… there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Okay," I said slowly. "Who is it?"

"Ah, dear girl, it would not be fair for _me_ to tell you that."

My eyebrows furrowed, yet I followed him out of the room and up several flights of stairs. I was panting by the time we reached the top of the tower. "Dear God," I said breathlessly, "are you trying to kill me?"

He just chuckled and knocked on a thick wooden door.

"Come in!" The voice that answered was definitely female. It had a slight musical lilt to it. Overall, it was just gorgeous.

Aro pushed the door open and I followed nervously. A woman with golden blonde hair looked up from a book and smiled at Aro. Her gaze found me and she let out a little gasp of surprise. Standing up, she glanced at Aro and stated, "I see you need to see Athenodora. I can't believe… after all this time…"

"Sulpicia," Aro said warningly. He took a few steps closer and muttered something to her that I couldn't hear.

"Perfectly understandable," she murmured. Sulpicia turned to me. "Come with me, _tesoro._" (**A/N: Darling.**)

With an encouraging nod from Aro, I followed the fair-haired vampire into another room, where an even lighter haired woman sat, just staring out of the window. She looked up at our approach. Her burgundy eyes widened at seeing me.

"Oh, _lodare gli dèi_! _E 'davvero lei_? _Sembra così tanto come suo padre._" (**A/N: "Oh, praise the gods! It is really her? She looks so much like her father."**)

"Yes, it's her, I couldn't believe it either… and she really does look a lot like him," Sulpicia said softly.

"What is going on here?" I demanded.

Athenodora sighed and gestured to the chair next to her. "Sit down, and I will explain."


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize, this chapter would've been up several days ago but my hard drive crashed and I lost all of my files :(**

**Hope you enjoy! And please review.  
**

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**Chapter 5**

I sat down next to her, wondering what was coming next. I noticed that while she was speaking a level of Italian I couldn't entirely understand, I caught "_padre_" which means "father." What did these… people… know about my father? Were they talking about my biological father? Did they know him personally? My pulse jumped – in excitement or nervousness, I had no idea.

Something clicked in my subconscious mind. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now that I look back on it, I know that it must have been realization.

"So…?" I prompted.

Athenodora gave Sulpicia a significant look. The latter inclined her head, smiled at me, and left the room in a whirl of fair hair. Athenodora sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You don't know how…"–she searched for the right word–"awkward this is."

"Believe me, I feel the same way," I muttered. It was the truth. This was probably setting records for how awkward any given situation has ever gotten.

"In short, I've been waiting for this day for ages. Actually, I wasn't sure if this day would _ever _come. It's been a tedious wait, but here you are." She smiled softly. "Well… oh, where do I begin?"

"You said something about my father," I pointed out. "Do you know him?" I added eagerly.

"Quite well, in fact. You've met him already."

Not a thought crossed my mind as to who it was. What the hell was going on? "What do you mean?" I asked blankly.

"Now this is going to be a hard pill to swallow, to use the common phrase," she explained. "But I need you to listen carefully."

I nodded, comprehending.

"All right, then," she sighed. "I'm going to tell you the story of how I was changed. You'll catch on after a while.

"I was twenty-two. I had been married to Caius for four years, who was a general in the Roman army at the time. I found out that I was four months pregnant the day it happened actually… Caius had been placed on honorable discharge and he came home the day I found out about the baby… he was elated, naturally. We decided to go out to dinner and celebrate. On the way there, we were attacked by a rogue newborn, left to die in the woods. We woke up three days later as vampires. I thought my child dead."

"That's terrible," I murmured.

Athenodora smiled. "I am not finished. Anyway, Aro found us twenty years after our change, and we lived with him, Marcus, Sulpicia, and Marcus's deceased wife Didyme–bless her soul–for thousands of years, as you can see," she said, gesturing to nothing in particular. "Nearly seventeen years ago, I was attacked by a werewolf."

"They exist, too?" I squeaked.

"Yes, unfortunately," she muttered. "The wolf bit me, yet the venom in its saliva didn't kill me as it should have. My vampire genes counteracted the werewolf's, and somehow I changed back into a human. I realized that my child could develop and be born properly now, so I stayed in hiding for the remaining five months of my pregnancy, and I gave birth to a baby girl. I gave her away to a human family who could take care of her and give her the life she deserved. I went back to Aro and he transformed me back to my former state, and here I am today," she concluded.

"Wow," I whispered. "You've had a rough time."

"Yes, I have. But it's just gotten much better." She smiled. "Because you're here now," she added at my puzzled expression, even though her statement was still rather cryptic in my mind.

"Why would my being here make–?" Then it hit me. "Oh. _Oh_."

I had just realized that _I _was Athenodora's baby – if I thought about it, everything fit. I was given away to another family. Now that I thought about it, there were certain flashes – nothing distinct – that popped into my mind every now and then that didn't make sense, but now I concentrated on one particularly murky image of what seemed to be a woman… My eyebrows furrowed. The face was becoming more and more distinct… I looked up into Athenodora's ruby eyes. The woman in my memory had gray eyes, but Athendora had the woman's face. I knew then that this vampire, this creature that was known to be evil in any human's mind, was my mother, and that she cared about me.

"You're my mother?" I clarified, my voice barely audible with shock.

"Yes."

We stood up at the same time. Before we knew what had happened, my mother had her arms wrapped around me, and I was crying into her shoulder out of pure joy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Something pierced my happy moment.

_If this is my mother, then… Oh, dear sweet Lord._

I pulled away from her. She looked down at me, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_, exactly…" I muttered. "It's just that…" I didn't really know how to put this the right way. "Well… Caius is my father, right?"

"Yes." Her tone showed that she wasn't sure where I was going with this.

"No offense, really, but he's a bit of a… well… he's not too friendly," I finished lamely.

She laughed lightly and brushed a strand of fair hair behind my ear, her cold hand making me flinch a little. Her expression wasn't as reassuring as she meant it to be. "Don't worry about him. He'll come around."

"Are you sure?" I murmured. _Wow, where'd all the emotion come from? _a snide voice in my head snickered. _I thought you hated him._

I wasn't sure how I felt about Caius. He was actually a lot like me–cynical, quick-tempered, ruthless… And now that I knew that he was my father, I really didn't know what I felt towards him. I didn't hate him, but I didn't love him either. He had a nasty attitude, and, even though I have a lot of his traits, I'm still a generally nice person. Caius? Not so much.

And there's the still the little fact that he's a vampire. _Why_, oh _why,_ do I always get sucked up in the dangerous crowd? First that gang, now this…

"Well…" She looked uncomfortable now. "Now, don't get all worked up," she continued quickly. "If you're anything like Caius, you've most likely got a terrible temper." She pushed me down into a chair by my shoulder–lightly, of course–and sat down across from me. "He doesn't know you're his child," she whispered, almost inaudibly.

It was quiet for a moment, the only sound being of the crowd coming in through the open window. "You never told him?" I asked finally, an incredulous tone in my voice. Naturally you'd tell your husband if you had a baby… right?

"No." She shook her head. "He knew I got attacked by a werewolf, but he didn't know that I'd somehow changed back to my human state." She bit her lip. "I didn't want to tell him about you because as he got farther and farther into this new life, he made little comments here and there about how glad he was that you had never had the chance to be born."

"He didn't want kids, you're telling me?" I clarified.

"He still doesn't, that's the problem," she muttered.

"If he finds out that I'm his daughter, will he try to… you know… kill me?" I asked shakily. Being killed was one thing… being killed by your own father was a totally different story.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she replied, equally as nervous. "Not many people can stop him if he's in that kind of a rage. I've been the only one that can–but I've lied to him for as long as you've been alive, and that will just make him even more infuriated if–or when –he finds out. It's hurt me to lie, because I love him as well as you, but I was keeping you safe…" She paused, then said, "I wouldn't put it past him to kill you."

"So what should we do?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I really don't know."

Just then, in a whirl of black hair and robes, Aro came barreling through the door at a speed I thought was pretty much impossible, even for a vampire.

"Aro, what's wrong?" Athenodora asked, startled.

"Dora, listen to me," he murmured. "You too, Lucia," he added.

"What's going on?" I interjected.

"It's your father," he answered grimly. "It so happens he was in the Piazza watching the humans and he overheard everything. He's _furious_."

Athenodora looked terrified. I must have looked the same way, because Aro addressed us both, saying, "Don't worry about a thing. Sulpicia and I"–he gestured to the aforementioned blonde, who came through the door just at that moment wearing a dark cloak, with another two in her hands–"are getting you both out of here. The Guard is trying to control him now, he's on a rampage…"

"Won't the humans notice?" I asked. It felt weird, considering I _was _human…

"Yes, that's what we're worried about," Sulpicia answered. "He's let the inner animal take control of his mind… he's in a haze right now. He won't bother controlling his instincts. He could cause a massacre in his anger."

"So what do we do?" I said, my tone impatient. My father was on a murderous rampage and we were just sitting around talking?

Sulpicia tossed me one of the cloaks and the other to Athenodora. "We run. The cloak might be a bit big for you, but it doesn't have your scent on it, so he won't be able to follow us as easily." She glanced out the window nervously. "It's around noon, so the hood will help keep us under wraps…"

"But aren't the legends about vampires burning up in the sunlight untrue?" I asked confusedly. I was almost ninety-nine point nine percent sure that Santiago didn't burn up when he was out there yesterday… Had it been only yesterday? Time flies as you're having fun…

"Yes, but our skin sparkles when we're in contact with direct sunlight," Aro explained. "And we cannot afford the humans to notice that."

"But how will I keep up while you're running? You're too fast for me." Damn, where'd all the worry come from?

"I'll carry her," Sulpicia suggested, looking at Aro inquiringly.

"No, I will," he contradicted. "If it comes to a fight, he'll go for her, and I don't want him to hurt you."

"Alright, then," she concluded. "Come on. Let's go."

I put on the midnight black cloak on and hurried down the stairs from the tower, wondering if I was going to die. _Well, here goes nothing._


	7. Chapter 7

**The long-awaited next chapter. :)**

**Review and enjoy! :)  
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**Chapter 8  
**

I was terrified. I was shaking all over, hyperventilating, and just in pure panic. My brain was making a very fast downward spiral. Somewhere, in the parts of my mind that weren't doused with the chilling waters of fear, I knew I really had no reason to be scared, but I just… was. Maybe it was the fact that death seemed inevitable. I honestly had no clue. My mind was a din of, _Oh my God, I'm going to die_, and, _Why the hell did I even sign the papers to go on this trip? _I couldn't really focus on much else, as my head simply wasn't letting me.

Once we got outside, the sunlight dancing on the cobbled streets of Volterra, I could faintly hear snarling and growling, and a few bestial screams of rage that made certain attentive human beings turn their heads in confusion and alarm, but most shrugged it off as their imaginations–I could see it in their faces. Athenodora, who had her cold, slender arms around my shoulders, shuddered.

We stopped. Sulpicia and Aro went off to discuss strategy, from the clippings of their conversation that my ears were picking up. Athenodora pulled me aside.

"Listen. You have absolutely no reason to be scared. I can understand why you are, but it's irrational fear you're experiencing. You'll be with Aro – and he'll be damned if you come back in less-than-perfect condition," she said softly, yet fiercely.

"He's not incompetent, you know," I replied, referring to Caius.

"I know," she whispered, her whole expression sagging with the hopelessness I knew she had been trying to conceal for my benefit. "That's our problem."

"May I ask what is happening?" a deep, monotone voice called out.

Our heads turned. Out of the shadows, a man with shoulder-length dark hair and a blank, bored expression emerged. Marcus.

"Marcus, our dear brother seems to have, to use the common phrase, flown off the handle," Aro said grimly, "due to Lucia." He gestured to me. Marcus looked at me without emotion, nodded and walked off. _O…kay._

"What was that about?" I asked.

"He was simply wondering why we were out in the open," Aro answered. "He may be practically comatose, but he's not stupid."

The rage-filled screams still continued. Even the hardy, immortal, perfect vampires shuddered. "Let's get this over with," Sulpicia said anxiously.

Aro came over to me and I honestly thought he was just going to sling me over his shoulder. In less than a second, I was in his arms with my hands wrapped around his neck. "That was fast," I muttered.

Aro chuckled. "It was meant to be."

Then the three vampires took off. Oh, their speed was amazing. Everything turned into a blur, and I began to wonder why they didn't slam into something. Naturally, Aro heard what I was thinking, and he said, "Maybe, if the day comes and you're one of us, you'll understand."

"Why can't you just tell me now?"

"It's simply too amazing for the human mind to comprehend. You could never picture what we see… you could never imagine how it feels to be invincible," he replied breathlessly. He seemed like he was amazed by his own capabilities.

I didn't answer him. I couldn't, really. What he was describing was beyond belief. But one part of what he said came back to me with a new interest: _Maybe, if the day comes and you're one of us…_

"Aro?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think… maybe sometime in the future… I could become like you?"

He tone suggested that he was a little surprised by my question. "Why would you want this?"

"You just said that it was a wonderful thing, being a vampire."

"Well… there are pros and cons to this life. Some things really are worth living – and dying – for, but others… Becoming a vampire means leaving everything that you were when you were human behind. You'll never have it back, and even if you got it back, it wouldn't be the same. Right after the transformation – especially after your first meal – you feel terrible. You just killed something with a life and a future for your own personal gain. You feel selfish and dirty and low like you never have before. It's a horrible feeling. You get over it eventually, but some say it's just not worth it. Do you want that?" he finished, basically throwing my question right back in my face.

I thought about it. Vampires are known as monsters in just about any human's mind, and I can attest to that – when I watched them kill and feed that afternoon, I was permanently affected by it. No one could forget that. No one could keep on living life like that never happened. Even if I did get out of there without knowing the truth, it would've haunted me for as long I would live.

"I don't know," I whispered, in response to Aro's question.

"Think about it," he murmured. "Think about everything, turn over every stone in your mind. Weigh things out. Think, 'what will I lose?' 'What will I gain?' It's a serious matter, Lucia."

"Do I have to, though?"

"No, you don't. Normally, our laws do not condone the continued living of a human being who knows of our existence, but you're a special case."

"So… you're giving me a chance?"

"Yes, because I believe, since you are a part of my dear friend's flesh and blood, you deserve that choice."

"Wow…" I couldn't say much else. I was too much in shock.

The conversation ended there. Before, I knew what was happening, I had fallen asleep. You'd think that, since I was being carried by something that was going at least a hundred miles per hour, I wouldn't be able to sleep, but it was just like riding in a car, believe it or not. I wasn't the most comfortable I'd ever been, but hey, at least I got _some _rest.

When I woke up, we were back in the wives' tower, and when I sat up and looked out the window, it was pitch black, the stars twinkling over the Italian landscape. I had slept a long time.

I ran a hand through my hair and yawned. When I touched my scalp, however, I felt something sticky. I held my hand in front of my face and saw red – blood.

Something cold touched my head. I jumped at the change in temperature and looked behind me. It was Sulpicia. She had placed a cloth on my head. Her expression seemed a little strained.

"What happened?" I asked.

She smiled unconvincingly. "Everything's fine."

"You're avoiding the question," I snapped. For some reason, I just wasn't in a pleasant mood.

Sulpicia held up her hands. "Relax." She walked around the sofa that I was sitting on and sat down next to me. "I'll explain."

I waited. She sighed and wrapped a strand of her curly hair around her finger. "Caius isn't a raving lunatic anymore. He's calmed down, but your mother…" She looked very worried. "She got a little torn up. He got so _angry_…" She shuddered. "I believe you can figure out what happened next."

I don't know why my mind jumped to this. I suppose it was stress. "Wait, he didn't kill her, did he?" I asked, panicking.

"No, no, no!" Sulpicia replied earnestly. "She just lost a few limbs. They've reattached themselves, and Caius feels horrible."

"Just as he should," I muttered fiercely.

She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and sighed. Her hand rested on my cheek for a moment before she pullled it back. "You shouldn't put as much blame on your father as you are. What would you have done if you had been in his place?"

"I wouldn't have flown off the handle and attacked my wife just because she kept the fact that I had a daughter from me just for said daughter's own good!" I said fiercely.

Just then, both of us heard a knock at the door. Sulpicia got up to answer it.

None other than Caius was standing in doorway, his expression tormented. I couldn't help but scowl a bit, but I retracted it when he looked even more distraught.

"I suppose I need to speak to you," he murmured, almost too soft for me to hear.

"Yes, I suppose so, too," I replied tersely.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ello! sorry i've been MIA for a while, guys. i lost inspiration, and I'm just now getting it back. Enjoy! **

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Caius – my _father... _the word was so weird to even think – sat next to me, taking Sulpicia's place. I heard the door's soft click as she left the room.

"I have some explaining to do," he said.

"No, really?" I muttered.

He shook his head, exasperated. He wouldn't look at me. "Listen, I feel wretched enough already without you making this worse for me."

I felt like an unexploded bomb. So, so much was galloping around inside my exhausted mind, and just like every other time something like this happened, I took out my frustrations on the people around me.

"Why should I care what happens to you, or how you feel?" I snapped. "_You _didn't seem to care a few hours ago. Why should _I?_"

"I was _wrong_!" he almost groaned, burying his face in his hands. It killed him to say it out loud, I could tell. But there was a sincerity in his tone that deflated me. Just a little.

"Okay, but why are you trying to tell _me _you're sorry? Isn't Athenodora the one you should be apologizing to? For nearly killing her?"

He flinched, and I felt a tiny bit guilty for putting it like that. He still wouldn't meet my eyes. "I already apologized to her, and, miraculously, she has forgiven me. I was hoping you would do the same."

"What for? Besides trying to kill me."

He sighed. "I didn't want to kill you."

That brought me up short. "That's what I was told."

"That isn't what happened."

"Then do enlighten me – what _did _happen?"

He finally looked at me, his cloudy crimson eyes filled with regret. He looked down again. "I was confused. I was... in shock, I suppose. And, as usual, I overreacted. I wasn't as... _adult _about it as I should have been. I've also given you a horrible first impression, and I'm sorry."

I would never have imagined _Caius_ being one to struggle for his words, but alas, here he was having a hard time phrasing things. Though somewhere, deep down, I felt his apology was sincere, he seemed to be having a hard time admitting all of this out loud. I completely understood that feeling – I wasn't too cheery about admitting I was wrong, either.

"I... accept your apology," I told him, albeit reluctantly, "but I don't trust you. Yet."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "That's all I ask. And I know you don't – I don't expect you to." He got up and turned to leave.

"Wait." I reached out for his arm. I could feel the chill of his skin underneath his shirtsleeve.

He turned and just looked at me for a moment before he flinched out of my grasp, as if I'd burned him. "Yes?"

I dropped my arm and started drumming my fingers against my knee. My jeans were torn, and my head was throbbing, which made me wonder what the hell had happened while I was out.

"Can I stay here?" I wasn't too eager to leave. I knew that if I did, I'd have no place to go. I couldn't go back to my parents – _adoptive _parents, now , I suppose – because I'd have a whole hell of a lot of explaining to do that couldn't be done honestly or convincingly, so staying seemed to be my only option.

"If Aro agrees to it, then yes."

"He has, I think."

"Then why are you asking me?"

"Because... well, it's kind of not up to Aro, right?" This was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. "I mean... it's kind of up to you and Athenodora, right?" I wasn't about to starting calling them _Mom _and _Dad_, not yet. Maybe not ever.

He seemed to understand what I was getting at, but thankfully, he didn't mention it in so many words. "Athenodora wants you around... and since it would make her happy, I suppose it would be acceptable for you to stay here. At least until you're ready to leave."

_So it's not about me... it's about her. _I felt oddly hurt by the thought, I brushed it off. Seriously, I barely knew him, even if he was my dad. And he was a_ vampire_, for God's sake.

I just said, "Thank you," and he walked out without another word. _That went well, I guess_.

Sulpicia came back a few minutes later. "To your room?" she asked.

I sighed and got up off of the sofa. "I suppose."

We walked in silence, until Sulpicia asked me, "Did he talk to you?"

I shot her a sideways glance, a little surprised. "Yeah, why?"

She shrugged. "I wasn't sure why he was wanting to see you." She looked at me sheepishly, then. "I stayed close by... just in case."

I realized why she looked so embarrassed. "Oh, don't worry about it. Nothing _too _personal was said, anyway."

"I suppose not."

A few moments of awkward silence passed.

"He cares about you, you know," Sulpicia murmured.

We were turning a corner, and I almost ran into the wall. "What?"

She stopped and just looked at me, almost smiling. "I said, he cares about you."

I collected myself and shook my head. "I don't think so. It's... my mom he cares about." It was weird to say that out loud, but somewhat right at the same time.

Sulpicia cocked her head to one side slightly, confused. "What makes you say that?"

"He said since it would make her happy if I was here, he would let me stay."

She nodded. Something I said must have helped her understand. "You will soon find that Caius is not always honest with himself. He wears his bitterness and pride as armor." She didn't sound like she was accusing him in any way. She sounded sorry for him. "I hope you sleep well."

I realized we were already at the door to my room. "Thanks," I replied. "You, too."

She cracked a smile, threw her head back and laughed. The sound was like a thousand joyful bells. "Oh, I haven't slept a night in nearly three thousand years."

I was astonished. _Not in three thousand years? _"Really?"

"Really. Now, get to sleep. I may not have to sleep, but you do. You've had a rough day."

She was right – I had. I had a huge headache, and I slept like my legs were going to give out. I had stopped bleeding from my head wound, though, thankfully. I smiled at Sulpicia. "Thank you," I said again.

She gave me a hug and smiled at me over her shoulder as she walked away.

I slept soundly that night. I felt safe... and _loved. _By vampires.

_It doesn't matter_, I told myself. _They may be vampires, but they're _my _vampires. My family. _

It was odd, thinking of them that way. I had never felt a true sense of family before, and this was my only chance.


End file.
